Saturday, 5 August 2017

I think this might be one of the best photos that I've managed to take of a busy bee.

I must admit I'm rather proud of it, but I have to admit that I've deleted nearly 20 that weren't so good. They are just so busy and flighty at this time of year...never staying still for more than a few seconds.

Friday, 4 August 2017

But before I natter away, I have finally (well nearly) finished the cacti and succulent watercolour I started after my trip to the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens.

I think I just need to tweak and add a few shadows and that's it.

Here's the result... which is an amazing feat considering all that's being going on around here.

This photo is sort of the calm before the storm...quite literally.

The thunder and lightening arrived and the rain came bouncing down.

Why I thought to go out without a jacket on... I have no idea.

Perhaps I was under the illusion that it was summer.

No wait a minute...it IS summer!

Maybe that's why I'm painting cacti and succulents?

Subconsciously I'm wishing for hot temperatures and more sun!

I also missed a dental appointment due to my new mobile phone, that I haven't mastered yet.

The memo's and diary are still blank, hence missing the reminder, but I'll get there.

Thankfully, I wasn't in any pain...my appointment was just for a brush and polish.

I didn't even twig when I got a phone call....mainly because I didn't recognise the new ring tone and didn't answer the call; wondering why someone didn't answer their phone.

Numpty!

I know...but in my defence as I said, it's been quite a week.

For those followers of my Instagram and Facebook, I apologise that I may be repeating myself here, but I feel I have to share this lucky chooks near miss.

Say hello to Annie...who's very lucky to be here today.

Not more than an hour after I arrived home from a lovely weekend in Edinburgh...my hubby shot up from working on the laptop shouting 'FOX' whilst dashing for the door in record time, kicking off his flip-flops (thongs) to maximise his speed.

His cries were ear piercing and certainly frightened me!

I had no idea that he could either move that fast or get such volume and pitch to his voice!

Thankfully, the fox was terrified too, as the wailing banshee advanced.

Annie, who was joining in with her own squawks as she was dropped from the jaws of the fox, made off to hide in the corner of the patio...then more squawks came from the top end of the garden.

More feathers flew and my hubby cries changed to rather colourful language

(maybe he thought he was near enough away from me...or the circumstances certainly called for it)

Chickens were flapping and squawking all over the garden... it seems that we had far more than just four chooks.

With the fox's escape under the conifer bushes and over the wall, we began to carry out a roll call.

Annie...yes, but traumatised and injured.

Bertha...present... (maybe too heavy for the fox to carry?)

Winnie...present (although hiding behind the rose bushes)

Flo? Flo? FLO?

Oh no...Flo was nowhere to be seen.

Only a mass of feathers were floating all around the garden and so with heavy hearts and sickly stomachs, we assumed that Flo had been taken.

I was so mad because I'd been telling hubby that he was being too blasé about them being free to roam, especially when he wasn't in the garden with them...but I had to back off because I knew he was so upset and guilty.

We scooped up Annie and checked her over...four puncture holes either side of her spine seemed to be the extent of her injuries. We've later found out that her leg is injured, as she now has a limp.

She's full of character and we're hoping that she has a lot of fighting spirit in her too.

She's recovering each day so we're hopeful she'll be fine.

Meanwhile the others were put in lock down!

Later as I was trying to calm my stomach with deep breaths, washing down the patio

(no blood... just feathers, bird seed and of course poop due to the fright).

A few minutes later my hubby called me to come and look.

I knew I couldn't take any more carnage, so declined, but he was insistent.

As I walked towards his voice and along the path...there he was holding Flo!
His favourite and with a huge grin to prove it.

She'd ran and just missed being grabbed by the fox (her lack of tail feathers are a new testament to her near miss and will be this seasons attire...basically minimal).

Phew... so now they're all together rallying around Annie and safe within the 'folly' walls.

They'll get a taste of free ranging (of sorts) by being in their movable run and we'll reposition it every day...but at least we know that they'll be safe and that's the main thing.

So on a lighter note to finish... here's something that gave us a giggle, this morning...

our 'wonkie' veg.

I would have taken the photo with all the greenery attached, but hubby just chopped them off before I had a chance. Ho hum...it's a work in progress...even after nearly 40 years!

To say we took a gazillion photographs between us, may be slightly exaggerated, but not by much.

Therefore I'm having difficulty choosing what to show you...there was just so much to see and appreciate.

A real feast for the eyes.

I don't think I've even seen so many varieties of plants and trees in one place.

The garden entry is free and there's only a minimal charge to enter into the glasshouse...but so worthwhile.

So there may be a few parts to this post because I would take up far too much of your time if I posted all my photos.

If you are visiting Edinburgh then try to ensure you put aside a day to visit and I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. There will be something for everyone.

For this particular post I'll concentrate on the Glasshouse which were established in 1670.

It's an incredible building.

The Temperate Palm House measures 15.24 m (50ft) to the top of the stonework - sandstone from a quarry at Bishopbriggs near Glasgow, with each glass dome 3.35 m (11ft) giving a total height of 21.95 m (72ft).

Shall we go in?

Can you feel that heat....ahhh

Everywhere you look there are amazing plants.

I'm sure that if you were to visit numerous times every season, then there would still be something new to see.

The humidity and heat took me right back in time to my days when we lived in the tropics.

So different from the North East of Scotland!

The ponds in the Glasshouses are at their best in summer with exotic sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), tropical water lilies flowers like Nymphaea 'Pamela' and particularly the giant Victoria water lilies (Victoriacruziana), whose leaves reach 1.5m to 2m in diameter.

Okay okay...that's probably enough for today.

As I said before it's been so difficult to decide what to include in this post... I hope you've enjoyed your visit and will return to see more in part two.

Saturday, 29 July 2017

My Sunday Photo this week is taken from the window of a train as I tootled along the East Coast of Scotland from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.

I'm pretty pleased with the results, especially with looking through a slightly dirty window and the jiggly movement.

It is an absolutely stunning coastline if the weathers favourable and as you can see by these photos it certainly was good weather.

I would have liked to have taken more scenic views, but partway through the journey a rather handsome young man came to claim his reserved seat next to me. Unfortunately, his was the window seat and I don't think he'd have appreciate an old woman leaning over him to get the shot!

I'm in Edinburgh to spend some girlie time with my daughter.

Who knows by next week I might have more photos of Edinburgh, but I'm not promising...

What do the guys say?

What happens on tour stays on tour!

I'm linking up with My Sunday Photo as usual.

Please feel free to pop across to see lots more photographs by clicking here

Friday, 21 July 2017

I'm on day two of trying to talk to our internet service provider... so my nerves are a little raw at the moment. We are still at the preliminary stages on day two of negotiations and as yet have no solutions on the horizon.

Oh my...if only I could talk to a person to sort out the problem!

Anyway, this is the main reason why I haven't anything to post for the PPF link this week.

I think I need to do some drawing at least, to keep my sanity so I've just started to draft a few cacti leaves from my previous post at the Botanical Gardens.

Thursday, 20 July 2017

After this morning's early wake up call, in the form of a thunderstorm, (my Instagram story) I thought I'd share a little warmth and transport us back to the Hot House in the Botantical Gardens.
I visited the gardens last weekend with my daughter.

The David Welch Winter Gardens at Duthie Park, here in Aberdeen, is one of Europe's largest indoor gardens and Scotland's third most visited, which seemed perfect as Saturday dawned with yet again rain forecast!

My daughter thought that the Winter Gardens would provide inspiration for an assignment that she's currently working on. She captured my image for My Sunday Photo from these gardens and as the photo shows... I was definitely in the zone!

If I had to choose a plant my least favourite would perhaps be a cactus.
I can't say why exactly, but after our visit to these gardens I think I'll have to rethink my choice, because there were some amazing specimens.

Huge leafy brilliant plants... which I now want to paint.

The hot house has one of the largest collections of Cacti and Succulents in Britain

Beautiful shapes and so many variations of the colour green.

As you can probably guess, I have quite a few photos from our trip... far too many blooms and plants to include here in one blog post, so I'll perhaps post more another day.

Keeping on the cacti theme...here's just a few more photos of the cacti.

Well it's still raining outside and the light is beginning to fade, so I think it's time to call it a day.

About Me

Neesie Natters is where I'd like to share the things that have caught my attention and delighted me.
I've travelled the globe for 24 years but have now returned home. I'll share some of my artwork, travels, books, recipes, garden and photography which are all things that make my heart sing.
It's about following your passions and finding wonder along the way.
Welcome, I'm glad you're here.